What Manchester United Can Offer Toni Kroos and Other Summer Transfer Targets

It's not enough that you like someone. No. Success depends on whether or not they like you, too.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you can offer each other. A boy might like a girl because she's attractive. She might like him because he's funny and, to her, that's important.

Somehow, some way, everything evens itself out.

A woman might not think her prospective mate is particularly good-looking, but decides he's rich enough to make up for it. The man might decide the woman isn't very intelligent but is so attractive that it doesn't matter.

Transfers follow a similar path.

Club A wants Player B because he scores a lot of goals and that's what they need. Player B might prefer to move somewhere else—somewhere near the beach, perhaps—but decides to join Club A anyway because they pay well and are based in a tax haven.

It's easy to see why Manchester United might be interested in Bayern Munich's Toni Kroos. He plays in midfield, among other things, and he's quite good at it. At least better than what they've got.

He can offer United goals and creation from midfield. And, still only 24, he can offer it for at least another eight years.

But what can United offer him?

By reportedly agreeing to pay Wayne Rooney £300k-a-week for the next five-and-a-half years, United proved they can still compete in an age of Oligarchs and Sheikhs.

The purists might not want to hear it, but players have a right to seek out the best financial package they can when they're moving clubs, and United have shown they can still offer competitive wages.

But Chelsea, Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid can all offer similar deals, as well as the added incentive of Champions League football. It's looking increasingly likely that United may not, although they can offer regular first-team football.

Clint Hughes/Associated Press

The Champions League has become the gold standard competition in world football—ahead of the World Cup—and Kroos may not want to miss out, even for just a year.

And, like the less-attractive man pursuing a beauty queen, they might have to make up the difference in cash.